Australians who own internal combustion-powered vehicles (ICE) but are found parked in electric vehicle spaces will face steep penalties in four of the country’s states and territories.
While Australia’s adoption of electric vehicles is still trailing many other countries, there remains a growing number of EVs on the roads and EV-only parking and charging spaces. The fines are the heaviest in the Australian Capital Territory pegged at $3,200 ($2,122) while in New South Wales the fine is $2,200 ($1,459). Those living in Queensland found ‘ICE-ing’ will need to cough up $2,875 ($1,907) while Victorians will need to pay a more reasonable $369 ($244).
Importantly, it’s not just owners of combustion-powered vehicles that could face the fines. Electric vehicle owners who occupy charging spots while not actually recharging their car may be fined.
Read: Tesla Owners ICE’d By RAM 1500 That ‘Identifies As A Prius’ Sipping Electrons At Supercharger
Chris Jones, the Australian Electric Vehicle Association national president, said the steep fines are necessary to educate the public, according to The Guardian.
“No one would like it if I parked my vehicle in front of a fuel bowser and walked inside and ordered lunch,” he said. “There needs to be an acknowledgment that there are places you can park and places you can’t and right in front of an EV charger is one where you can’t.”
“Every charger available is critical and valuable to the fleet of 80,000-odd EVs in the country, and we need to make sure they’re not blocked, either intentionally or accidentally,” Jones added. “There are genuine mistakes made by some people, but we need to have a broad recognition across society that these chargers need to be available to EVs so we can have more on our roads.”
The New South Wales metropolitan roads minister, Natalie Ward, said the fines will help to “support the transition to electric vehicles on our roads.”
